It should be said that we can't be sure the eighth inning actually cost the Cubs Game 4. They didn't score a run. They surely put more pressure on the Nationals in the late innings with a 1-0 deficit instead of 5-0, so it's possible the eighth inning is what beat them. Even if it didn't, it essentially ended the game with two more turns at bat coming for the North Siders.

And we're pretty sure the eighth inning did cost the Cubs Game 2.

To sum up how things have gone for Cubs pitchers this series, this should make it easy. Here's the breakdown of Nationals' runs.

It wasn't nearly as drastic in the regular season, but the eighth inning has been a big problem from the get-go for the Cubs' pitchers.

The overall ERA in the regular season for the Cubs was 3.95. In innings 4-6 it was 3.67. In the sixth inning alone it was 3.17. In the seventh inning, the Cubs' collective ERA was beautiful 2.94.

The eighth inning, though?

5.06

That was the Cubs' ERA in 162 eighth innings during the regular season.

For those interested, the league average ERA in the eighth inning is 4.10. There were actually three teams worse in eighth-inning ERA than the Cubs (Angels, Mets, Tigers), but none had winning records.

Overall, the eighth inning on the mound has simply been brutal for the Cubs.

One might be inclined to think this is some small-sample anomaly and that the Cubs just need to keep plugging away and "it'll all even out," but it seems to be a personnel issue.

It didn't matter. None proved more reliable in the eighth inning this season than Edwards -- albeit with control issues that resurfaced in Game 4 -- but he coughed up the lead in Game 2 and then helped load the bases and force Maddon's hand to go to Wade Davis in Game 4.

There just, frankly, haven't been any great options.

Maddon doesn't have a much wiggle room here. He likely needs to stick with Edwards as his setup guy and hope that Edwards pitches like Game 1 and Game 3 (both 1-2-3 innings with three strikeouts combined, including Harper in Game 3) and not like Games 2 and 4.

If the Cubs get through Game 5, the eighth inning remains a concern heading into the NLCS. If they lose Game 5, there's a decent bet the Nationals' big rally was mounted in the eighth inning. It's been happening all year and that's the biggest reason the Cubs didn't sweep this series.

Matt Snyder has been a baseball writer with CBS Sports since 2011. A member of the BBWAA, he's now covered the last six World Series beginning with the epic 2011 Fall Classic. The former Indiana University...
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